The  Philippines 
and  India 


Bishop 

HENRY  W.  WARREN 


THE  PHILIPPINES 
AND  INDIA 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AS  A MISSIONARY 
POWER  IN  THE  FIRST,  ENGLAND  IN  THE 
SECOND,  AND  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL 
CHURCH  AS  A FORCE  FOR  GOOD  IN  BOTH 


An  address  delivered 
at  the  Annual  Meeting, 
General  Missionary 
Committee,  Boston, 
Mass.,  November,  1904 


THE  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY  OF  THE 
METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 
150  FIFTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK  CITY 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 
Columbia  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/philippinesindiaOOwarr 


USED  to  think  that  the  British  Parlia- 
ment was  the  nerve  center  of  the  world. 
I have  heard  their  reports  from  “our 
India  possessions,”  “our  South  African 
possessions,”  “our  Hongkong  posses- 
sions,” and  the  islands  of  the  sea.  But  a Methodist 
Conference  is  far  more  a nerve  center  of  this  world, 
and  of  the  next.  We  deal  with  finer  forces,  higher 
issues,  and  everlasting  realities.  The  Prime  Minister 
is  questioned  concerning  different  parts  of  the  em- 
pire, and  he  sends  an  Under  Secretary  to  pigeonhole 
B or  Z to  get  a report  of  some  other  under  under 
secretary.  This  is  a government  of  the  earth.  But 
the  Ruler  who  has  the  Cross  of  universal  empire  laid 
on  his  shoulder,  sends  his  own  representatives  to 
every  part  of  the  earth,  and  they  bring  reports  from 
every  land. 

“The  winds  that  o’er  my  ocean  run 
Blow  from  all  lands;  beyond  the  sun, 

From  starry  space,  and  coming  time, 

Great  breaths  of  God  they  sweep  sublime.” 

I count  it  the  privilege  not  merely  of  my  lifetime, 
hut  of  any  life  in  the  universe,  to  be  appointed  to 
visit  our  far-spread  fields.  And  having  gone  from 
Patagonia  on  the  south  to  the  Arctic  Circle  on  the 
north,  and  the  whole  world  round,  in  the  interest 
of  this  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ,  I here  make  my 
report  of  the  last  expedition. 

3 


Westward  to  the  Far  East 
We  left  San  Francisco  September  3,  1903,  a year 
ago,  and  more.  In  a few  days  we  were  at  Hawaii, 
the  paradise  of  the  Pacific;  fourteen  mission- 
aries work  yonder — Americans — in  Japanese  and 
English.  Some  days  after,  Japan.  I there  joined 
the  Commission  of  fourteen  churches  devising  a 
common  hymnal  for  that  field,  feeling  that  the 
prayer  of  our  Lord  was  being  fulfilled,  “that  they  all 
may  be  one,”  clear  up  to  the  limit  of  oneness  be- 
tween the  Father  and  the  Son — “even  as  we  are  one.” 
There  we  have  seven  Districts  in  the  Conference, 
5,000  members,  forty  churches.  And  to  give  you  an 
example  of  the  kind  of  people  there:  A case  of 
bubonic  plague  broke  out  in  Yokohama,  and  cul- 
minated, as  they  all  do— 97  per  cent — in  the  death 
of  the  victim.  Japan  wanted  to  stamp  out  that 
plague.  You  know  rats  leaving  a house  carry  the 
plague  far  and  wide.  So  they  made  a corrugated 
iron  fence  around  the  whole  premises;  standing 
firmly  in  the  ground,  and  then  set  out  to  fumigate 
the  place.  In  order  to  do  it  they  set  fire  to  the  house, 
and  burned  it  level  with  the  ground.  I think  they 
did  that  job  thoroughly. 

We  .sailed  down  through  the  summer  sea  of  the 
thousand  islands,  touched  at  Shanghai  and  Hong- 
kong, and  across  the  Chinese  Sea  to  the  Philippines. 

America  a World-Power  and  Missionary  Force 
The  greatest  missionary  factor  in  this  world  is 
not  the  Methodist  Church,  is  not  any  church,  is 
not  all  the  churches;  it  is  America  that  is  the 
world-power  and  missionary  force  in  this  world; 
and  by  that  term  “America”  all  the  world  knows 
4 


I mean  the  “United  States.”  It  is  the  great  mis- 
sionary power  of  the  world.  The  signal-fires  of 
victory  had  not  died  out  on  our  New  England 
hills  when  they  burst  out  in  France,  in  the  greatest 
event  but  ours  of  that  century — the  French  Revo- 
lution— the  greatest  event  of  Europe  in  that  century. 
The  next  century  was  only  begun  when  we  bearded 
the  Barbary  pirates  in  their  den,  and  said,  what  all 
Europe  had  never  been  able  to  say:  “Cease  your 
depredations  on  the  world’s  commerce.”  We  were 
not  fifteen  years  old  before  we  had  inaugurated  a 
new  era  of  diplomacy.  The  old  Machiavellian 
theory,  voiced  by  Richelieu,  that  “human  language 
was  invented  to  conceal  man’s  thought,”  was  put 
away  forever;  and  clear,  definite  statements  of  what 
we  meant  and  could  stand  by,  with  no  double  mean- 
ing, were  introduced  into  the  diplomacy  of  the  world. 
An  illustration  of  it  was  when  Lieutenant  Ingraham, 
in  1863,  in  the  harbor  of  Smyrna  found  Martin 
Koszta  detained  on  board  an  Austrian  ship-of-war, 
who  had  simply  declared  his  intention  of  becoming 
an  American  citizen.  Lieutenant  Ingraham  sent 
word — after  being  denied  possession  of  the  man — 
that,  unless  he  was  delivered  up  directly,  he  would 
sink  that  craft  to  the  bottom,  and  laid  his  ship  along- 
side to  do  it.  That  was  diplomacy  that  could  be 
understood,  and  it  was  maintained  from  that  day 
until  the  great  treaty  of  China,  when  United  States 
diplomacy  saved  the  division  of  that  great  empire. 

The  United  States  and  International  Arbitration 
It  is  a world-power  in  another  matter.  In  these 
early  treaties  we  have  incorporated  the  principle  of 
arbitration,  and  in  one  hundred  cases  of  arbitration 
lately,  in  the  few  years,  fifty  of  them  have  been  of 
the  United  States  interests,  and  fifty  of  all  the  re- 
5 


mainder  of  the  world.  So  that  at  length,  when  came 
the  time  that  we  found  ourselves  in  possession  of  the 
Philippines,  we  were  the  missionary  power  of  the 
world. 

I chanced  to  be  in  South  America  on  my  official 
work  in  Montevideo  when  two  telegrams  arrived. 
One,  dated  Manila,  said:  “The  Yankee  fleet  entered 
our  harbor  at  daylight,  and  immediately  engaged 
our  ships  and  forts,  and  in  the  course  of  an  hour 
and  a half  they  withdrew,  evidently  much  crippled, 
seeking  to  hide  themselves  behind  the  merchant 
ships  on  the  other  side  of  the  bay.”  We  were  de- 
pressed a bit.  But  in  the  same  paper  was  another 
telegram  later:  “The  Yankee  fleet  emerged  after  an 
hour  and  a half  and,  before  noon,  had  either  burned 
or  sunk  every  ship  of  our  squadron  in  Manila 
harbor.”  We  walked  out  an  inch  and  a half  taller 
than  ever  before!  That  was  6 ships  against  17;  53 
guns  against  111;  1,000  killed  and  wounded  on  the 
Spanish  side,  8 slightly  scratched  on  ours. 

The  United  States  and  Cuba 

This  was  the  first  instance  in  human  history  where 
one  nation  interfered  with  another  with  regard  to 
its  treatment  of  its  colonies.  In  1823  South  America 
was  made  republican  by  our  declaration  of  the  Mon- 
roe doctrine,  and  we  applied  that  doctrine  for 
liberty  and  the  rights  of  men  when  the  cries  of 
murdered  Cuba  went  up  into  the  ears  of  the  Lord 
God  of  Sabaoth.  Was  there  any  nation  that  could 
interfere  with  European  powers  in  regard  to  the 
treatment  of  a dependent?  Just  one,  and  only  one 
in  human  history!  And  so  we  declared  that  the 
hand  of  tyranny  should  be  taken  off,  and  we  would 
not  ask  Cuba  as  indemnity  for  our  interference. 

War  was  declared  on  the  twenty-first  of  April. 

6 


Ten  days  later,  on  the  first  of  May,  Dewey  had 
crossed  the  Chinese  Sea  from  Hongkong,  and  entered 
Manila  harbor,  with  the  result  I have  mentioned. 

The  United  States  and  the  Philippines 
What  could  we  do  with  over  eight  hundred  or 
twelve  hundred  islands,  according  to  whether  you 
count  habitable  islands  or  mere  bubbles  of  rock 
from  the  depths  of  the  sea?  What  to  do — this  was 
a question  which  troubled  the  powers  that  be  as 
much  as  anything.  Mr.  McKinley  has  told  some  of 
my  colleagues  that  he  knew  not  what  to  do;  he  could 
not  tell.  <But  let  us  be  thankful  that  we  have  had 
Presidents  and  rulers  that  could  appeal  'to  God  for 
knowledge  in  regard  to  difficult  questions,/ 

I remember  distinctly  in  Philadelphia,  how  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  used  to  send  for  Bishop  Simpson,  and 
say:  “Tell  me,  what  is  the  pulse  of  the  people? 
You  feel  it.  You  can  tell  me.  None  of  my  politicians 
can.  Tell  me.”  And  then  they  prayed  together. 
They  strengthened  each  other’s  hands  in  God  for 
the  great  work  before  them.  McKinley  was  another. 
4nd  Mr.  Taft  has  lately  affirmed  the  same  thing. 

^What  should  we  do?  Sail  away,  and  leave  them  in 
the  possession  of  Spain?  Why  leave  them  any  more 
than  Cuba?  /Spain  for  three  centuries  had  burned 
at  the  stake  or  imprisoned  a thousand  of  its  people 
every  year  of  those  centuries.  This  marks  the 
cruelty  of  diabolism  of  the  fierce  nation  that  was 
holding  Cuba  and  holding  the  Philippines.  What 
to  do?  Send  them  back,  and  let  all  the  concentrated 
malignity  fall  on  them?  Give  them  over  to  them- 
selves? Every  kind  of  influence  hostile  to  every 
other  kind!  Seventy  languages,  or  jargons  called 
languages!  Give  them  up  after  six  years  of  war 
with  Spain  to  free  themselves  from  its  yoke?  Let 
7 


them  go  to  some  other  people,  some  other  nation?^ 
McKinley  said  it  was  borne  in  upon  him  that  we 
must  keep  them,  and  deal  with  them  as  a strong 
nation  ought  to  deal  with  the  weak.  We  kept  them. 
What  did  we  do?  We  found  them  full  of  antagon- 
isms. The  army  after  six  years’  striving  to  free  the 
islands  from  Spain  was  divided  into  hostile  little 
bits  of  bands  of  robbers  dwelling  in  the  mountains, 
descending  on  this  valley  to-day,  and  that  the  next; 
and  the  United  States  lifted  up  its  hand,  and  said: 
“Peace!  Be  still!  And  there  was  a great  calm.” 

Magnificent  Enteepeises 

' Then,  what  next?  Ninety  per  cent  of  the  working 
animals  of  the  islands  died  of  the  rinderpest — im- 
possible to  cultivate  the  fields — starvation  in  the  near 
future.  Our  government  appropriated  three  millions 
of  dollars  to  replace  the  animals  which  had  died, 
and  to  bring  in  rice  to  prevent  starvation./  It  went 
over  to  the  mainland,  took  cattle  by  the  thousands, 
rendered  immune  by  inoculation,  brought  them  over 
and  sold  them  on  favorable  terms.  Nothing  but  the 
government  could  conduct  such  magnificent  enter- 
prises. It  imported  thousands  of  tons  of  rice  and 
seeds  of  all  sorts.  I have  been  in  large  rooms  where 
there  were  packed  barrels  and  boxes  of  all  sorts  of 
new  seeds,  wheat,  and  corn  of  every  kind  for  the 
health,  or  the  development  of  the  agriculture  of  the 
people. 

Justice  and  Instbuction 

Gave  them  laws!  I remember  hearing  Mr.  Taft — 
having  invited  in  all  that  cared  to  know  about  the 
laws — speak  of  the  new  penal  code  which  ought  to 
be  enacted  for  the  government  of  the  islands.  The 
old  laws — seventy-five  per  cent  of  them — were  in 
favor  of  the  church  and  its  ecclesiastics.  They 
8 


needed  to  have  a new  set  of  laws.  Naturally  no  man 
should  have  by  reason  of  his  office  any  favor  at  court. 

Then  there  were  seventy  different  jargons  called 
languages.  The  United  States  simply  said:  “In  1907 
only  the  ‘American’  language  shall  he  recognized 
officially  in  these  islands.”  And  in  order  that  that 
might  be  possible,  the  transport  Thomas  landed  one 
day  five  hundred  and  forty-eight  teachers,  the  choice 
of  our  college  graduates  and  our  normal  schools,  and 
a transport  a few  days  later  five  hundred  more. 
These  were  scattered  through  the  villages  far  and 
wide  to  teach  English.  Fifty  per  cent  of  that  number 
two  years  before  would  have  been  murdered  in  less 
than  six  months!  All  those  people  of  seventy  lan- 
guages got  the  greatest  gift,  the  English  language, 
rich  in  literature,  with  a scientific  nomenclature, 
with  the  knowledge  of  all  the  thoughts  of  the  living 
and  the  noble  sentiments  belonging  to  man,  given  as 
a gift  at  once  to  eight  or  ten  millions  of  people! 

I emphasize  the  matter  of  schools.  When  the  United 
States  began  that  system  of  education,  there  were 
800  schools  in  all  the  islands — one  for  10,000  people. 
We  immediately  made  3,000  more,  making  a little 
more  than  4,000  schools.  We  developed  3,000  native 
teachers  in  a short  time,  and  more  Filipino  youths 
have  been  taught  in  the  six  years  since  Dewey  went 
in  there  than  all  the  youth  that  had  been  taught  in 
three  or  four  hundred  years  under  the  Spanish  flag. 

Stamping  Out  Choleba  and  the  Plague 

Then,  too,  after  the  famine  follows  disease — 
cholera,  the  bubonic  plague — always  after  insuffi- 
cient nutrition.  Stamped  it  out!  Just  as  we  went 
into  Havana — found  a pest-house  and  made  it  a health 
resort — we  established  ourselves  in  Manila  and  other 
places,  doing  the  work  of  a missionary  nation.  Will 
9 


you  remember  that  the  mission  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  was  not  simply  that  of  soul-saving,  but  also 
for  body-saving,  for  making  men  strong  and  well; 
sacrificing  himself,  showing  his  power  over  diseases 
and  devils.  Then  he  brought  the  highest  ideas  that 
ever  dazzled  our  race.  More  dropped  from  his 
lips  in  an  hour  than  all  the  discoveries  of  men 
in  all  centuries;  great  thoughts  of  God  and  the 
brotherhood  of  man.  So  we  gave!  The  government 
communicated  great  ideas,  putting  in  1,048  teachers 
in  a week,  to  communicate  these  ideas;  stamped  out 
cholera  and  bubonic  plague,  and  so  blessed  the 
people  in  great  measure. 

The  Chubches  Following  the  Flag 

Of  course,  churches  must  follow!  Alas,  follow! 
If  ever  I have  been  ashamed  of  my  church  as  a 
church  of  the  living  God,  it  has  been  when  I have 
seen  how  far  it  faltered  along  in  the  rear  of  the 
glorious  movement.  We,  with  all  these  millions 
waiting  for  us,  are  able  in  a few  years  to  put  in  ten 
missionaries;  the  government  inaugurated  a move- 
ment, and  brings  in  a regiment  of  the  best  it  has! 
We  get  ten  missionaries!  I had  appointed  one  from 
Saint  Louis  Conference,  another  a pastor  in  Denver, 
from  the  Colorado  Conference.  I came  there  a little 
later,  and  found  them  presiding  elders  over  great 
districts,  with  a thousand  or  two  thousand  members 
apiece.  Think  of  the  sudden  elevation  of  these  men, 
and  the  greatness  of  the  work  which  they  had  to  do! 

A Joyous  Welcome 

We  were  received  joyously,  with  “Amens”  and 
favor.  Why?  Because  the  innate  sense  of  what 
religion  and  disinterested  virtue  are  had  expelled 
the  friars  by  the  thousand,  because  it  could  not  be 
10 


that  such  organizations  represented  religion.  Of 
course,  they  had  this  advantage — they  were  well 
grounded  in  the  one  fundamental  fact  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  namely,  the  vicarious  suffering  of  the 
Son  of  God,  paying  a price  so  vast  and  high  for 
human  redemption.  The  cross  had  signified  that  to 
them;  the  figure  of  the  bleeding  victim  had  repre- 
sented it  to  them;  but  they  had  been  taught  that  all 
the  infinite  purpose  of  that  atonement  had  been 
deposited  with  the  church,  and  could  be  obtained  by 
the  payment  of  money,  and  only  thus  could  the  favor 
of  God  be  obtained.  Hence,  when  we  came  preaching 
the  doctrines  of  free  grace  and  the  infinite  love  of 
God  for  the  individual,  telling  any  man  that  he  may 
enter  into  the  blessed  realm  of  the  consciousness  of 
the  favor  of  the  infinite  loving  Father  and  dying 
Christ,  they  leaped  to  receive  such  news,  having  been 
grounded  in  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith. 

Seventeen  Hundred  at  a Class  Meeting 
I could  give  you  many  illustrations.  One — I 

preached  one  Sunday  to  an  audience,  when  the  pastor 
gave  notice  that  on  the  Tuesday  evening  following 
there  would  be  a general  class  and  “testimony  meet- 
ing,” as  he  called  it,  in  the  Rizal  Theater,  near  by, 
admittance  only  by  ticket,  to  be  had  gratis  at  our 
seven  Methodist  churches  in  the  city.  I said : 
“Rizal  Theater!  Why  not  here?”  “It  is  not  big 
enough.”  So  I waited.  Tuesday  evening  I stepped 
on  the  stage  and  faced  a vast  audience  of  seventeen 
hundred  people.  O,  could  you  get  such  a general 
class  in  Boston?  Could  you  get  such  a general  class 
in  New  York  or  Philadelphia?  And  here,  in  the 
very  beginning  of  our  preaching  the  gospel,  people 
admitted  by  ticket  to  a general  class — seventeen  hun- 
ll 


dred!  You  know  that  in  going  into  a new  com- 
munity we  take  on  old  methods;  and  admission  by 
ticket  is  one  of  the  good  ones.  We  value  what  we 
have  to  take  pains  to  get. 

Four  of  us  were  given  fifteen  minutes  apiece  to 
give  our  “testimony,”  and  it  did  seem  to  me  that  the 
revelation  of  God  to  my  soul  for  salvation  and  help 
was  never  so  sweet  as  when  telling  it  to  this  people. 
On  one  side  of  me  stood  a man  translating  my  re- 
marks into  Spanish,  and  another  translating  the 
same  remarks  into  Tagalog.  I had  only  one  third 
of  the  fifteen  minutes,  and  it  was  all  too  short! 
Then  the  testimony  of  Brother  Zamora  and  the 
others,  making  the  four;  and  then  the  word  was 
given:  “Rise,  and  when  recognized  speak.” 

And  now  comes  to  my  vision  Father  Taylor  pre- 
siding in  this  very  city,  and  saying  to  one  after  a 
happy  expression,  “That’s  a good  place  to  stop.” 
They  did  not  need  that,  because  they  had  been  ex- 
horted, and  they  were  obedient.  The  first  man:  “I 
believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  because  he  has 
saved  me  from  my  vices.  Hallelujah!”  Next:  “I 
sought  peace  everywhere,  by  pilgrimages  and  sac- 
rifices and  expiations  of  all  kinds,  by  the  order  of 
the  church,  and  found  no  peace  until  I found  it  in 
Jesus  Christ,  whose  peace  passeth  all  understanding.” 

I asked,  How  can  you  teach  this  people  so  quickly 
the  knowledge  and  the  speech  of  the  kingdom? 
“Don’t,”  they  said.  The  Holy  Ghost  teaches  them — 
that  is  it.  “God  hath  made  of  one  spirit — not  blood — 
all  nations  to  dwell  on  the  face  of  the  earth;”  and 
being  of  the  same  material,  acted  upon  by  the  same 
agency,  the  Holy  Ghost,  they  all  break  out  in  the 
same  sort  of  speech.  So  when  we  come  where  they 
gather  from  every  country  and  tribe  and  nation  under 
the  whole  heaven,  they  will  join  in  the  “new  song” 
12 


with  perfect  harmony  and  delightful  appreciation 
of  its  meaning. 

Phenomenal  Growth 

We  have  now  thirty  churches  there  in  the  Philip- 
pines. When  I was  there  we  had  6,820  members. 
When  the  General  Conference  came  we  reported  8,004. 

Is  there  anything  to  be  done  for  this  people?  You 
know  that  in  all  Catholic  countries  the  church  only 
can  solemnize  matrimony.  You  know  also  that  a 
monopoly  placed  in  individual  hands  is  dangerous. 
So  place  a monopoly  of  marrying  people  in  the  hands 
of  the  church,  and  it  is  dangerous.  For  the  Mexican, 
the  Filipino,  the  South  American,  the  high  charge 
for  marriage  varies  from  ten  dollars  and  up,  and 
in  one  case  I know  of,  a thousand  dollars!  The  re- 
sult was  that  prices  were  prohibitory,  especially 
where  men  could  earn  but  ten  cents  a day,  and  the 
people  would  say:  “We  will  live  together  faithfully, 
and  when  we  can  afford  it,  we  will  get  married.” 
The  result  was  that  80  per  cent  of  the  children  were 
born  illegitimate,  of  parents  compelled  to  live  in  un- 
holy relations.  I might  tell  you  of  the  disabilities 
of  such  people.  Well,  Mexico  set  an  example  of 
abolishing  that  monopoly,  and  four  hundred  people 
came  forward  in. one  of  the  towns  in  Mexico  to  be 
married  by  our  people.  Dr.  Wood,  of  Lima,  Peru, 
went  into  the  legislature  to  get  the  same  Mexican 
law  passed.  This  law  was  retroactive,  so  that  all 
children  acknowledged  by  the  persons  married  should 
be  considered  legitimate.  It  was  passed,  but  Presi- 
dent Pierola,  in  the  interest  of  his  church,  vetoed  the 
bill.  Then  Dr.  Wood  got  it  passed  over  the  veto. 
So,  immediately  on  our  possession  of  the  Philippines 
the  old  law  was  abrogated  and  another  passed,  so 
that  anyone  in  charge  of  an  accredited  congregation 
13 


or  an  alcalde  of  the  village,  might  perform  the  mar- 
riage ceremony.  Result — I went  into  a pastor’s 
study  where  seven  hundred  couples  had  coine  for- 
ward to  be  married.  On  one  occasion  twelve  couples 
were  present  at  once.  The  pastor  said:  “You,  Sar- 
miento,  take  Theodosia,  and  you,  Gonzales,  take 
Maria,  to  be  your  wedded  wife,”  and  so  on.  “By 
the  authority  of  Almighty  God  and  the  state  under 
which  we  live,  I pronounce  that  you  are  severally 
husband  and  wife  respectively.” 

Family  Readjustments 

A man  came  into  Brother  Stuntz’s  office  to  be  mar- 
ried, and  brought  his  ten  children  with  him — all  the 
way  from  twenty-one  years  old  to  comparatively  a 
state  of  infancy.  And  when  he  expressed  his  opinion 
of  a church  that  had  kept  him  and  his  wife,  whom 
he  loved  and  to  whom  he  had  been  faithful  all  these 
years,  from  being  lawfully  married,  his  language  was 
a little  more  rough  than  the  minister  could  indulge 
in.  And  I was  reminded  of  the  Quaker  who  came 
into  a station  just  in  time  to  see  the  train  disappear 
at  the  other  end  of  the  depot.  He  was  forbidden  to 
indulge  in  the  kind  of  speech  that  welled  up  in  him; 
but  another  man  was  not,  and  he  vented  his  opinions. 
The  Quaker  turned  to  him,  and  said:  “Thank  thee; 
that  is  just  what  I wanted  to  say.”  I wanted  to  say 
this  same  thing  to  this  man.  And  when  Brother 
Stuntz  asked  him  who  should  be  the  witness,  he 
said:  “My  son,  Sarmiento.”  Brother  Stuntz  partly 
suppressed  a smile  and  suggested  “You  better  have 
some  of  your  neighbors.”  The  ten  children’s  names 
were  entered  on  the  marriage  certificate,  and  they 
were  thenceforth  free  from  the  disability  the  church 
had  put  upon  them. 

Occasionally  you  find  a man  who  feels  that  this 
14 


great  government — the  richest  on  the  face  of  the 
earth — should  refrain  from  exercising  the  beneficent 
influences  that  the  good  God  has  showered  upon  it. 
And  occasionally  you  find  a man  who  would  contro- 
vert the  divine  order  that  “where  much  is  given” — 
in  this  great  country,  O,  so  unutterably  much,  even 
up  to  God’s  great  limits,  “much  has  been  given” — 
“much  shall  be  required.” 

The  Multitudes  of  India 
What  is  India?  A section  of  country  as  big  as  the 
United  States  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  O you 
men  of  Kansas  and  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  and  New 
York  and  the  great  region  in  which  you  dwell,  and 
where  the  flag  makes  glory  over  your  head,  think  of 
a section  just  as  large,  populated  far  more  densely. 
We  with  eighty-three  millions  everywhere — how 
many  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  I cannot  tell;  and 
they,  one  sixth  of  the  human  race,  about  300,000,000, 
in  that  crowded  area. 

What  is  their  condition?  They  belong  to  the  same 
blood  that  we  do,  the  Aryan  race.  They  flowed  from 
the  back  of  the  world  south,  while  we  flowed  west, 
as  the  “star  of  empire”  goes.  And  so  they  are  the 
same  integral  race  that  we  belong  to;  but  under 
different  circumstances!  All  through  the  years  their 
rulers  have  simply  plundered  them;  taxing  them 
until  they  could  only  live  to  pay  more  taxes. 

Gobgeousness  Depending  on  Extortion 
I stood  where  that  Peacock  throne  had  been 
erected;  $1,200,000  put  into  one  gorgeous  throne,  and 
all  the  people  who  helped  to  make  it  hardly  had  a 
stool,  and  everyone  sat  on  the  ground.  I saw  a 
prayer  rug  eight  feet  by  six  worth  $150,000,  and  the 
15 


very  people  from  whom  it  was  extorted  had  scarcely 
rags  to  make  them  decent,  to  say  nothing  of  com- 
fortable. I saw  cannon  made  of  solid  silver;  and 
only  in  show  times  could  the  people  ever  see  silver. 
But  the  son,  to  surpass  the  king  who  made  silver 
cannon,  cast  his  cannon  of  gold.  O how  I longed  to 
melt  them  up,  and  put  on  them  the  stamp  of  coin 
and  the  English  flag,  and  let  them  go  out  among  the 
people,  doing  good! 

The  English  viceroy  of  India  said:  “Take  nine 
twentieths  of  all  the  people  of  India;  divide  all  that 
they  possess — lands,  houses,  furniture,  working  ani- 
mals, clothes,  stocks  of  food,  etc. — and  there  would 
not  be  $25  apiece.  Are  they  clothed?  With  a yard 
and  a half  of  cloth  which  never  knew  the  touch  of 
scissors  or  needles.  Are  they  hungry?  Lean  and 
thin  and  short  of  stature,  on  the  verge  of  starvation, 
and  sometimes  beyond  it.  Are  they  trained?  A 
little.  Three  hundred  years  ago  there  was  only  one 
in  300,000  of  women  who  could  read.  In  1877  that 
was  reduced,  and  now  of  the  women  who  can  read 
there  is  one  in  2,300.  Just  one! 

Famine  Ten  Times  a Century 

They  are  visited  by  famines  about  ten  times  in  a 
century;  and  sometimes  one  famine  will  sweep  away 
5,500,000  inhabitants.  How  can  one  with  $25  be 
prepared  for  three  years’  famine?  I went  through 
the  country,  and  the  starkest  things  I saw  were  dead 
trees  without  a leaf.  These  trees  were  leafless,  bark- 
less, white,  stark  ghosts  which  had  died  in  the  long 
years  of  famine. 

But  what  state  of  mind?  Superstitious  beyond  all 
estimation.  A man  prepares  for  his  journey  most 
carefully,  makes  provision  for  the  long  absence, 
steals  out  while  the  morning  star  is  in  the  sky  lest 
16 


something  of  ill  omen  shall  meet  his  path;  the  cricket 
cries  on  the  left  hand,  and  he  goes  back — the  journey 
must  be  abandoned.  He  sees  the  new  moon  over  the 
left  shoulder — palsy  hangs  over  him  for  all  the  rest 
of  that  month.  Superstitions  are  so  many,  so  various, 
touching  all  kinds  of  life,  I cannot  stop  to  refer  to 
them.  Poor,  superstitious,  uneducated,  visited  by 
famine,  what  shall  we  say?  I have  known  men  to 
go  there,  and  say:  “No  help!  They  are  only  crawl- 
ing maggots  in  a decaying  mass  of  civilization;  let 
them  crawl  on  a little  more  until  the  putrefaction 
is  complete,  and  die!”  No!  Such  men  do  err,  not 
knowing  the  Scriptures  nor  the  power  of  God.  He 
is  all-powerful.  He  has  loved  them  to  the  uttermost 
that  he  may  redeem  them.  He  would  let  a whole 
people  go  .to  Egypt  for  four  hundred  years  in  order 
to  bring  out  a nation  allied  to  him.  He  would  let 
that  nation  go  again  to  Babylon  into  slavery  that 
they  might  at  length  come  forth  and  found  a new 
Jerusalem.  He  ministers  by  famines,  by  wars,  by 
all  things,  that  he  may  bring  forth  his  kingdom  to 
the  eternal  glory  and  joy  of  many. 

Two  Gbeat  Cbises 

What  is  the  result?  There  have  been  two  great 
crises  in  the  history  of  this  nation’s  life;  two  great 
eras  when  the  trump  of  God  sounded  for  the  Chris- 
tianization of  India,  un  two  occasions  in  the  past 
God  has  provided  for  the  salvation  of  India.  The 
Jews  went  from  the  glory  and  the  power  of  Pente- 
cost, and  scattered  themselves  throughout  that  re- 
gion. Between  180  and  190  A.  D.  the  bishop  of 
Alexandria  received  a message  from  a large  body 
of  Christians  there  asking  for  teachers.  The  Nes- 
torians  moved  out  through  Persia  into  China,  and 
left  that  marvelous  inscription  there.  They  reached 
17 


down  into  India.  God’s  time  struck  in  the  heavens 
for  the  evangelization  of  that  people.  But  the  Nes- 
torians  turned  aside  to  quibble  about  doctrine;  to 
deny  the  divinity  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thus 
they  took  away  the  central  power  for  that  evangeli- 
zation, and  rendered  the  redemption  of  India 
impossible. 

Afterward,  in  1542,  Xavier,  with  enthusiasm,  zeal, 
and  self-sacrificing  devotion,  came.  The  great  Mogul 
Akbar  sent  a messenger  asking  to  be  instructed  in 
the  principles  of  Christianity.  The  whole  people 
waited,  throbbing  with  earnest  desire,  such  as  the 
Holy  Ghost  plants  in  the  hearts  of  great  peoples 
asking  to  be  taught  in  the  things  of  God.  I cannot 
pursue  the  history;  I cannot  give  you  the  reasons  at 
this  time  why  these  yearnings  of  the  nation  for  the 
Desire  of  the  Nations  were  not  satisfied.  But  they 
were  not. 

The  Time  Set  fob  the  Redemption  of  India 

Now  comes  the  third  time;  it  is  our  day.  It  is  the 
time  which  God  has  set  for  the  redemption  of  this 
great  people.  Note  how  he  follows  the  same  methods 
through  the  ages,  because  he  takes  the  one  best  pos- 
sible agency  at  first.  So,  when  he  would  spread 
Christianity,  after  the  death  of  Christ,  he  put  all  the 
accessible  parts  of  three  continents  under  one  stand- 
ard, the  eagles  of  Rome.  Paul  could  go  anywhere 
preaching  the  gospel.  India  is  the  same  now  as 
Rome  was  then,  under  one  flag  which  streams  from 
the  Himalaya  heights  as  a flagstaff  clear  down  to 
Cape  Comorin  in  the  south.  And  that  flag  means 
protection  to  our  missionaries,  as  Roman  eagles 
meant  to  Saint  Paul.  Christian  women  go  in  couples 
far  off  in  the  mountains  and  on  the  plains,  always 
safe  and  always  without  fear,  because  that  flag  is 
18 


over  them.  Then,  it  means  26,000  miles  of  railway  from 
one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other;  30,000,000  acres 
cultivated  by  irrigating  canals;  roads  everywhere; 
justice  established;  the  rapacity  of  petty  kings  made 
to  cease,  and  all  that  Anglo-Saxon  civilization  means 
given  to  this  people.  All  our  missionaries  under  the 
dominancy  of  the  English  flag! 

That  you  may  know  something  of  the  power  of  men 
inspired  by  this  principle  we  are  considering,  go 
and  stand  in  the  city  of  Delhi,  a walled  city,  with 
gates  defending  and  moats  surrounding  it,  and 
40,000  mutineers  therein  drilled  and  trained  and 
armed  by  British  officers.  Three  thousand  British 
soldiers,  with  5,000  Sepoys,  set  themselves  against 
these  40,000  inside  the  fortification,  and  took  the  city. 
Don’t  you  think  that  when  such  an  achievement  has 
been  made,  the  people  will  look  up,  and  say  in  the 
language  of  one  of  the  early  poets  quoted  by  Saint 
Paul,  “Ye  are  gods”? 

Two  Nations  with  One  Purpose 

It  was  fitting  that  we  Americans  should  be  there 
with  the  English  people.  The  great  crises  of  the 
ages  are  upon  us.  The  great  unfoldings  of  the  divine 
plan  are  visible  to  eyes  that  see  with  spiritual  vision. 
With  these  two  peoples  united  we  lay  aside  the  an- 
tagonism of  Revolutionary  times,  and  of  the  War  of 
1812,  and  join  as  one  for  the  achievement  of  this 
great  purpose,  so  necessary  to  the  accomplishment  of 
God’s  great  plans.  Therefore,  when  in  1861  the 
combined  forces  of  England  and  France  attacked 
China,  while  assaulting  the  Taku  forts  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Hoangho,  the  boats  taking  the  English  troops 
ashore  got  aground  under  the  fire  of  the  Chinese 
forts,  Commodore  Tatnall,  of  the  American  navy, 
saw  it,  and  said:  “Blood  is  thicker  than  water.  Pipe 
19 


away  my  steam  yawl,  and  draw  those  boats  oft  the 
mud  bank.”  So  it  is  fitting  that  we  should  be  there 
in  India  joining  hands  with  the  great  power  which 
rules  over  the  islands  of  the  sea,  and  we  and  they 
should  be  linked  together  in  holiest  ties. 

Feeble  Forces  for  Great  Tasks 

What  are  we  doing?  We  are  doing — with  the 
feeblest  forces  that  ever  were  set  to  do  a great  task — 
marvelous  things.  I have  quoted  to  you  that  in- 
stance of  Delhi — 3,000  soldiers  against  40,000  muti- 
neers inside.  We  are  more  than  repeating  that  great 
work.  We  are  making  it  clear  that  the  Scripture  is 
true:  “One  shall  chase  a thousand;  and  two  shall 
put  ten  thousand  to  flight.” 

I have  been  in  a district  where  we  have  23,000 
members  and  600  class  leaders,  and  only  one  for- 
eign missionary  for  the  whole  district!  Only  one! 
How  they  drill  those  native  preachers,  and  how 
they  drill  the  native  preachers’  wives!  I was  in  a 
place  where  the  native  preachers’  wives  were  being 
taught  to  visit  the  zenanas,  and  they  were  instructed 
to  read  and  study  that  they  might  visit  the  homes 
and  show  the  women  the  way  of  life.  I see  before 
me  now  one  mother — holding  her  sucking  child  to 
her  breast,  and  two  children  playing  about — study- 
ing, copying,  reading.  And  I said:  “What  can  she 
do?”  And  I asked  for  the  result  of  her  examinations. 
She  was  to  be  a helper  to  her  husband.  The  result 
of  her  examinations  was  that  she  stood  away  toward 
the  head  of  the  whole  class.  What  a light  flashed  in 
her  face  as  the  result  was  read.  I thank  God  we  are 
raising  up  indigenous  resources,  missionary  workers 
in  the  field. 


20 


Incredible  Successes 

We  are  succeeding  in  India  incredibly.  Let  me 
institute  a single  comparison,  and  in  order  that  it 
may  not  be  odious  I will  refrain  from  mentioning 
the  name  of  the.  other  Mission.  Compare  them! 
Work  was  begun  in  A in  1885;  work  in  B in  1887. 
We  appropriate  to  A,  with  its  10,000,000  of  people, 
$23,000  a year.  We  appropriate  to  B,  with  its 

10.200.000  people,  $5,000.  What  is  the  result?  In 
one  mission  160  baptisms  in  the  year;  in  the  other 

2.000  baptisms,  and  5,000  crowding  forward  to  re- 
ceive baptism  and  instruction.  It  brings  before  me 
forcibly  the  figure  of  Bishop  Foss,  that  “we  are 
standing  in  all  India  with  our  backs  against  the 
door,  with  expectant  people  trying  to  burst  into  the 
kingdom,  and  we  not  entering  in  ourselves,  but  hin- 
dering those  who  are  entering.”  Not  scattered  nor 
few  are  these  blessed  opportunities. 

Let  me  say  that  we  have  a right-hand  helper  there 
in  the  Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary  Society.  Some- 
times in  the  foreign  land,  people  all  alone  and  dis- 
tant, each  one  following  the  improvement  of  his  own 
work,  get  somewhat  antagonistic.  They  keep  alive 
the  love  of  God  in  their  hearts,  working  together,  but 
they  have  their  little  antagonisms;  they  are  nervous 
inside. 

Harmonious  Agencies 

In  India  all  work  harmoniously.  What  kind  of 
work  do  they  do?  They  take  the  great  lessons  of 
the  ministry  of  Jesus  Christ:  1.  He  came  healing 
the  bodies  of  men.  2.  He  came  giving  ideas.  So, 
going  to  Muttra,  I found  a tall,  stately,  beautiful, 
self-possessed  woman,  the  daughter  of  the  president 
of  a state  college  in  Ohio,  who  was  out  there  at 
21 


Brindaban,  where  pilgrims  go  every  year  to  dip  in 
water  which  has  been  thrown  on  some  hideous  idol. 
She  was  there  ministering  blessings  of  health,  at- 
tending the  sick,  holding  a dispensary,  teaching  the 
people  the  doctrines  of  Christ  while  she  healed  their 
bodies.  Cholera  broke  out.  What  could  she  do? 
Flee  the  city?  She  was  there  by  the  appointment  of 
Almighty  God.  She  stayed,  ministering  to  them  here 
and  there  and  elsewhere,  whether  in  houses  or  lying 
on  the  dry  grass.  When  utterly  tired  out  she  said: 
“I  must  have  a little  sleep.”  She  crept  into  her  room 
and  fell  off  into  a sound  sleep.  Sick  ones  crawled 
into  her  room  and  died  on  her  floor,  thinking  to  be 
a little  nearer  the  compassionate  God  she  represented. 
That  is  the  kind  of  work.  But  I cannot  speak  at 
length.  The  zenana  work  comes  up  before  me — I 
cannot  represent  it,  but  it  is  being  done. 

On  the  Tibetan  Frontier 

A mission  in  Tibet  has  been  suggested  for  one 
church.  I do  not  advise  it.  But  the  Woman’s  Foreign 
Missionary  Society  has  representatives  who  again 
and  again  in  the  past  summers  have  penetrated  into 
those  forbidden  lands,  and  have  been  ordered  out. 
The  women  would  make  a day’s  journey  over  the 
border,  and  send  their  horses  and  their  servants 
back.  They  would  be  ordered  out  by  the  officials. 
They  would  say:  “Wait  until  we  get  our  animals 
and  our  men.”  And,  meanwhile,  they  would  change 
to  some  other  place,  and  there  be  ordered  out  again. 
And  after  about  six  weeks,  the  authorities  succeeded 
in  getting  them  out;  but  meanwhile  they  distributed 
tracts,  and  had  talked  to  scores  of  hungry  people. 
God  will  find  individuals  who  have  been  trained  for 
the  blessed  kingdom. 

We  have  heard  pathetic  utterances,  pathetic 
22 


indeed,  of  the  devotion  of  men  to  the  cause  of  our 
blessed  Master.  I met  a presiding  elder,  seventy-two 
years  old,  somewhat  feeble  with  age,  whose  wife 
had  come  home  to  the  United  States  seeking  help, 
hut  died  here,  and  was  buried,  and  he  never  could 
stand  beside  her  bed  nor  visit  her  grave — in  feeble- 
ness, leaning  against  a tree,  and  weeping  his  heart 
away,  calling  for  some  one  to  come  and  take  his 
place,  and  let  his  feet  turn  toward  home  again. 

The  Surpassing  Need  for  Workers 

I held  the  seven  Conferences  in  conjunction  with 
the  missionary  bishops.  Let  me  say  to  you  that  I 
was  obliged  to  leave  seven  churches  without  any 
appointment  whatever;  churches  which  had  been 
created  on  the  ground  by  native  funds,  some  in  the 
mountains  and  some  on  the  plains  around  beautiful 
Agra — seven  churches  without  any  appointment; 
desolation  and  desolation,  because  I had  not  the  men. 
Think  of  it!  And  sometimes  it  is  queried:  “Are  we 
not  playing  this  India  for  more  than  it  is  worth; 
for  more  than  we  are  getting  out  of  it  in  comparison 
with  other  places?”  I hold  that  we  are  bound  to  all 
places,  to  preach  the  gospel  everywhere,  to  every  in- 
dividual, by  the  divine  commission  and  command. 
But  I hold  that  we  have  failed  of  our  duty  here. 
Why?  Because  the  church  has  not  responded.  I re- 
member that  in  the  time  of  our  civil  strife,  whole 
churches  were  decimated  by  men  going  into  the 
army.  I remember  a single  individual  in  my  church 
who  equipped  a whole  regiment,  and  sent  them  into 
the  field  to  the  defense  of  the  flag.  When  will  come 
the  time  when  we  will  have  a like  interest  for  the 
kingdom  of  God  as  for  our  country?  Hasten,  Lord, 
the  glorious  time! 

Sometimes  I have  queried,  with  emotion  and  tears, 
23 


why  we  are  not  having  the  great  success  we  are 
working  for,  in  this  country.  And  I hear  a far-off 
echo.  It  takes  form  in  a name  forgotten  in  the  far 
past:  “Curse  ye  Meroz;  yea,  curse  her  bitterly,  be- 
cause she  came  not  to  the  help  of  the  Lord,  to  the 
help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty.”  God  grant 
that  this  word  may  never  be  heard  over  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church;  but  that  we  may  grow  as  zealous 
for  the  kingdom  of  God  in  all  parts  of  the  world  as 
ever  man  was  zealous  for  the  flag  of  his  country. 


24 


, 


